Sen. Kaine condemns what he calls 'war on veterans' at Dumfries town hall
Sen. Tim Kaine led a panel discussion with local veterans in Dumfries last week as part of a weeklong tour of Virginia to hear the concerns of the state’s veteran population.
“I’m really, really worried about what I'm calling the war on veterans that’s underway right now,” Kaine said.
The March 17 meeting discussed the challenges faced by past service members, particularly the impact of federal workforce reductions and Veterans Affairs system issues.
Kaine was joined by Army veteran and small business owner Wakeena Dickens, Col. Billie W. Keeler, Prince William County Supervisor Andrea Bailey of the Potomac District, Col. Gail Jennings, Pastor Charles Lundy and physician’s assistant Carolyn Gartner. Panelists shared their experiences with the VA system and the ongoing federal layoffs.
Several attendees noted the disproportionate impact the layoffs are having on veterans. They expressed concerns over disability claims with complex submission procedures and slow claim processing times, long wait times for medical appointments, understaffed VA facilities, limited economic support for transitioning veterans and difficulty maintaining careers while supporting military families.
Kaine said there is an urgent need for legislative action and increased support for veteran communities.
“We understand that today is not normal for the veteran,” Bailey said during the discussion.
‘I’m embarrassed for the [Trump] administration,” said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair Deshundra Jefferson, who was not on the panel but addressed the room as an audience member. “I’ve had conversations with so many people who don’t know what to do next, or maybe their skills aren’t exactly one-on-one transferable to the private sector ... If you do have mass [layoffs] – because over 30,500 people within Prince William County work directly for the federal government – what is it going to do to us?”
President Donald Trump’s orders to reduce the federal workforce have led to thousands of job cuts, and thousands more are facing job uncertainty.
Kaine noted 30% of the federal workforce are veterans, with 15% being disabled.
“If you engage in an effort to fire a lot of federal employees, the single group that is hurt the most disproportionately is veterans,” Kaine said.
Earlier this month, a group of senators introduced legislation that would reinstate veterans fired from federal jobs.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., introduced the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, cosponsored by Kaine and Andy Kim, D-N.J. The bill, which seeks to reinstate veteran federal employees and to require reports from executive branch agencies on the number of veteran employees, is currently in committee. There are no cosponsors within the Republican majority.
“I thought I might be able to get Republicans to vote with me on this … we could not get a single Republican vote. But we are continuing to push on this,” Kaine said.